Valence “honored” by its victory at the Francouvertes
Valence
Share November 3, 2020 5:38 p.m. Share Valence “honored” by its victory at the Francouvertes
Léa Harvey Le Soleil After more than six months of delay, the Francouvertes ultimately crowned Vincent Dufour, alias Valence, on Monday evening, during the virtual grand final at the Cabaret Lion d'Or in Montreal. Le Soleil chatted with the artist hours after he won the top prize, a $ 10,000 grant. Plunge into music with 1001 inspirations from Valence.
How do you feel after removing the 24th edition of the Francouvertes? “Honoré”, Valence answers without hesitation.
Moved and proud of the performance of his group, the singer admits that he had almost lost hope that the competition would take place: “This summer, I didn't think it would take place. But when they announced the dates, we “got ready” for the show. There was so much uncertainty… It was still stressful months before we knew if it was going to happen or not. ”
For the first time in the history of the Francouvertes, the three finalists were all from Quebec. As soon as he knew he would make the final with people he knew very well, Valencia immediately felt the pressure of the last few months to leave him.
Narcissus Photo Maryse Boyce
“When we got to the final, it was just friends from Quebec. […] It really released all the accumulated tension. The three, in the final, we knew that the test was done in a way. We really just took the opportunity to do one last show ”, he confides, while hastening to salute the“ solid performances ”of Narcisse and Ariane, who respectively ranked second and third in the race. awards.
During the award ceremony on Monday evening, Valence admitted that this final was “a source of pride” for the Quebec music scene and shows how dynamic and original the artistic community is. “If I can talk about the other two projects, what I see as a similarity between us is our staging. It's something the three of us have really worked on. […] There was a lot of work in the Pantoum complex. I think that in Quebec, it is our strength the spectacle and the setting in scene ”, estimates the singer while quoting other inspiring artists like Gab Paquet, Alexandre Martel [Anatole] and the members of Beat Sexü.
Ariane Photo Maryse Boyce
Unique inspirations and codes
From his primary, Vincent Dufour already adored music. In secondary school, he created “lots of bands”. He left his indie rock group Medora in 2018 to start his personal project: Valence. A year later, in May 2019, he released his first solo EP, Cristobal Cartel.
His influences? Indie rock and the music of the 70s. The artist admits that he only very recently discovered the great Quebec hits which, however, now inspire him. It does not matter whether one speaks to him about song, documentary or another medium: any work related directly or indirectly to music leads him to an enriching universe.
“There are people who create music, but who are inspired by images or whatever. Me, it's really the music itself that nourishes me ”, explains the one who plunges as much into retro, as in pop or experimental music. Between the sounds of saxophone, flute and her unique voice, Valence describes her melodies as “immersive and eventful”.
If his “maximalist” songs take on socio-political airs, the singer does not however portray himself as a committed artist: “Basically, I believe that music has a political or committed function. She contributes a lot of things. […] For my first EP, I felt like I had to say things, that it was bigger than me. But the more I evolve, the more I realize that intimacy is what creates a universal bond. So I have more and more of the desire to have sincere, intimate music, ”he explains.
Worried about what will happen next
In conclusion to his performance on Monday evening, Valencia launched a lot of love to the audience before indicating that he did not know when he would return on stage: “Maybe in a year, maybe in six months.”
If he is well aware of being “privileged” thanks to his price and the media attention that the latter brings him and will bring “when everything is going to start again”, the young man confides to be worried about what is happening and to the impact that the pandemic will have on “technicians, broadcasters and the entire entertainment industry”.
No event is currently on its program. Not even a virtual show?
“I am a little ambivalent. At the start, [before the Francouvertes], I was really reluctant and more conservative. I felt that the time I was going to put on a virtual show, I was not going to put it on my creation, he explains. But there are artists like Bon Enfant who did a show in a forest recently. It's a concept that is fun. ” With an interesting and innovative idea, nothing is impossible, “even [if] he does not plan anything soon,” he adds.
